Devil in Plain Sight
by Chaunceytron
Summary: Sam and Dean are on another hunt. Asked by their old friend Missouri Moseley to help a missing psychic, they are led into the path of the Goatman. Meanwhile, two young women find a mysterious man in the woods and must survive the Goatman. (I wrote this in 2016. It takes place after the 11th season finale in an alternate universe from the show.)
1. Prologue

Mark looked into the fire. Alexis was talking a long time just to run to the bathroom. Raising the last bottle of beer to his lips, he drained it of the last drops. The night sky was clear, but the tall trees blocked the other mountains from his view.

There was a rustling behind him, and Mark began to smile and said, "About time, girl." But the slow smile vanished from his face as he heard a deep booming voice.

"WHERE IS THE BOOK, MARKUS?"

He froze for a few seconds then threw the empty bottle into the bushes.

"I know that's you, asshat. Quit being a douche, and get lost before she comes back," Mark angrily hissed at his little brother as Joe rose from the bushes.

"Damn! I was hoping to at least scare you. It's your own fault for getting that creepy book... You really set the tone for our trip," Joe said half playfully, half warily. That book gave him a bad feeling. He couldn't explain it, but he knew it was bad news. Joe watched as Mark touched the coat pocket with an odd look on his face.

The tension between them was cut by a piercing scream. Joe didn't have to see who it was to know it was Alexis. Mark took off, grabbing a hunting knife and calling her name. Joe looked for the keys to their Jeep and realized that Mark had been the last one to use them.

Cursing under his breath, he followed his brother. His brother had stopped up ahead. Joe felt a lump on his throat as he saw his brother's horror-struck face. He looked up the path where he saw Alexis on the ground, still screaming. Her leg was broken; the bone had cracked through the skin.

Standing next to her was something Joe could only describe as a living nightmare. It looked like some kind of freak experiment. Its body was human... Or at least humanoid. Except for its legs. Fur covered most of its lower limbs, and out of its, no, his head sprouted antlers. As it turned to face the brothers, Joe nearly crapped a brick when he saw the glowing, red eyes. And that didn't even cover the smell, as if someone had put rotten eggs and fertilizer in a bag and left it to ferment. That was how awful this thing smelled. Not that Joe had much time to take it all in. The creature had turned to face them, almost as though deciding which one to attack first.

"Run," whispered Mark as he started to approach the creature terrified. Alexis still screaming as she reached toward Mark.

Joe ran to the closest shelter he could think of: the public bathrooms. He grabbed a rock before he slammed the door shut. A loud snap echoed through the forest, and he could hear his brother let out a sob. Joe realized in a panic that he could no longer hear Alexis' screams. That thing was going to kill them all, but if Mark could make it to the car, he could get help.

Joe opened the door, and screaming for his brother to run, he threw the rock at the creature. Mark ran toward the car, and Joe felt relieved until the creature turned its horned head to him. The rock had just stunned it, and now it was pissed. Joe ran back and slammed the door shut.

As it ran toward the door, Joe could hear its loud footsteps. It banged on the door and howled and screamed.

"LET. ME. IN." It could sound out the words, but it sounded off, almost strained.

Joe put his entire body into holding that door tightly in place, then it abruptly stopped. He knew it had likely gone after his brother and could only hope that he'd bought Mark enough time.


	2. Chapter 1

Sam approached the crime scene, a cup of coffee in each hand. The serene Appalachian trail behind him seemed completely at odds with the wreckage in front of him. A jeep sat on its side; the interior was beyond repair with glass coating the seats. The entire front of the car was smashed inwards. Sam had no idea what would do this kind of damage or why, but he knew one thing with certainty. Whatever this thing was, it was huge, and it was dangerous. Sam had just talked to the younger brother, who had witnessed at least part of the attack, and Dean had left to survey the scene of the crash.

The younger brother's name was Joseph Stalton. A younger guy just out of high school, but to be honest he looked quite older. No doubt that the trauma he went through last night was to blame. Sam knew from experience how to lose an older brother. Hell, he even knew what it was like to watch an older brother die fighting a supernatural creature. Sam couldn't tell Joe these things though. He couldn't tell him that it would eventually get better. After all, he had gotten his older brother back multiple times now. Luckily for Sam and Dean, they had managed to cheat certain quite a few times.

Or perhaps unluckily, Sam thought as he kept a lookout for Dean. After all, things had always seemed to get much darker shortly after one of their impromptu resurrections.

Sam looked around warily; he had actually just now fully recovered from a bullet wound. Apparently the European Men of Letters had gotten tired of their constant trouble-making. Even now Sam had a hard time relaxing.

"Hey!" Dean called out to Sam, raising his hand slightly. Dean was standing a few yards away from the police detectives, close enough to observe but not close enough to be unduly noticed. Sam trudged his way over to Dean and handed him a coffee. Carefully taking the lava-hot coffee, Dean glanced over to where the detectives were standing before sliding his hand into his coat pocket.

"Think this has to do with our moose on the loose," Dean smirked as he pulled out a strange talisman.

Sam gave him a grave look before scanning the area. The police officers and lab techs were far too invested in the mysterious crime scene to be curious of the two "FBI agents." Sam took the talisman. It had an odd feel to it like Sam was being watched by whatever made it, and once he had it in his hand, he wanted to toss it.

"So get anything useful out of the brother?" Dean asked as he started to walk back up the path.

"Same as the witness from the flea market. A big goat/man hybrid." Sam followed behind him, keeping pace.

"Still think it's Phil?"

Sam gave him a look of mild annoyance and confusion.

"From Hercules, Sammy. The goat dude."

"Oh. A satyr. No. Not really… the description seems to match, but satyrs were portrayed in Greek myths as irritating but not particularly strong or aggressive."

"So the horny bastard got some magic steroids?"

"Have you seen the front of the car, Dean? Plus you can smell the sulfur from here. If we are dealing with that level of magic, then we're dealing with at least one witch here."

"Damn. Phil on a rampage and fun witchy mojo. Missouri really picked a fun one for us."

Missouri Moseley was a psychic friend of their father. One of her friends was a wiccan, of course, who had gone missing a week ago. Being one of the few friends their family had left, Sam and Dean had decided to investigate. Plus it would give their newly-resurrected mother and their angel friend Castiel some down time. Yeah... Sam and Dean had strange lives to say the least.

"The flea market guy had said that the older brother bought some kind of old leather-bound book. Could be a book of shadows. All I know is that we've got a lot of research to do." Sam got into the Impala and started inspecting the coin.

"Joy," Dean growled as he slid in and started the engine.


	3. Chapter 2

Syd looked out the window to see the sun starting to set over the mountains in the distance. Charlie was supposed to be back by now. Dark clouds were forming on the horizon promising a storm. Syd grabbed a light jacket and a walking stick before exiting the cabin; her grandfather had taught her how useful a good walking stick could be in the wilderness. Dangerous snakes lied in the tall grasses here, and it was best to be prepared. As Syd walked outside, she peered into the forest around her. At least Charlie had the corgis with her. If Charlie was really lost, all Syd really had to do was call out for them, and their barking would lead her right to Charlie. Still, Syd felt nervous.

She decided to take a quick walk on the path near the cabin. It might calm her nerves, and hopefully, she'd see Charlie. She slowly meandered around the trail. They had lucked out and gotten a pretty remote cabin; Syd guessed that the forest fire a few months ago had played a role in that. Syd's grandparents had lived in Shenandoah when Syd was a child, and she was always happy to visit. The woods here held a certain kind of magic for her. It was late summer, so the weather was warm but not overly so. The wind tossed her hair as she walked around the path; the winds carried the sounds of nature. She could hear the chickadees in the distance. Concentrating on their calls, she found herself thrown back into her childhood. A time when fairies lurked in branches of tall trees.

A sudden snap from a few yards away broke Syd from her nostalgic reverie. She cautiously looked toward the sound, caught between curiosity and the urge to run away. A groan of pain echoed from behind some trees in the distance, which was soon followed be a loud thump. Syd took a hesitant step towards the sound. It sounded human, so at least it wasn't a bear. She couldn't help but think that she was doing exactly what the morons in horror movies did as she slowly moved toward the unidentified fainting object, careful to not make any sounds of her own. She kept her hand clenched around her walking stick as she approached and tried to even out her breathing to be as quiet as possible.

Peering around a tree, she expected to see an injured camper or even a hiker. What she wasn't expecting to see was a man in an expensive-looking suit and dark trench coat, bloody and bruised on the ground. Syd dipped back behind the tree. He hadn't seen her as he was hunched over in pain, so she could probably sneak back to the cabin unnoticed. She could even hear the corgis excited barking from the direction of the cabin. Despite considering sneaking back to the cabin to get Charlie, she realized that to do that she'd have to leave a severely injured man in the forest with no form of protection and a storm fast-approaching. There was another loud thump. No doubt he had tried to stand and failed magnificently. Great. Just perfect.

Gathering her courage, Syd took a deep breath and carefully approached the man. It would be dark soon, and she could hear thunder in the distance. Leaving him wasn't really an option as much as she wanted to entertain the idea. She knelt beside him and softly touched his shoulder. He jerked away and glared at her. His eyes narrowed and focused on hers, glaring at her through strands of jet black hair. Despite being obviously in pain, he was extremely guarded. Like a wounded, feral animal.

"It's okay," she spoke to him calmly and soothingly; her voice rose barely above a whisper. "Our cabin is just up ahead. I can help get you cleaned up. A really bad storm's on its way, but we can get you to a ranger station first thing in the morning."

His dark brown eyes never left hers for a second. Still untrusting but he seemed to calm down a little.

"My name's Sydney," she still spoke softly but with more confidence. "What's yours?"

After a few moments of silence, he replied, "Nick."

Relieved, Syd smiled at his reply. At the very least, he was now aware of his surroundings. Now came the fun part. A small sigh escaped her lips as she prepared herself to lift him.

"Alrighty then. Ready, Nick?"


	4. Chapter 3

Lucifer stared up at the ceiling. His battle with God versus Amara hadn't gone exactly as planned, and now he was in a very precarious position. Amara had reduced him to a new level of pathetic. Luckily he had found a dying rich boy in the forest; kidnapped, beaten, shot, and left for dead, the poor fool had agreed eagerly to Lucifer's request. All Lucifer had to do was track down the kidnappers and make them pay. Easier said than done at the moment, but as soon as Lucifer was recovered, it wouldn't take too long.

His whole body ached, but especially his head. What he had left of his power was currently trying to heal him, but it seemed to be a very slow process. Incredibly slow for an angel but incredibly fast to a human. Luckily, he had been found by a human with some sort of medical knowledge, although unfortunately she had seemed to notice that some of his superficial wounds had healed as she was applying treatment. During the process he had pretended to be sleeping, but he had sneaked glances at her and was amused by the dumbstruck look on her face. However, she seemed to just brush it off as the blood obscuring the wounds as she went back to concentrating on disinfecting the other wounds. Lucifer found himself both relieved and disappointed. The girl, Sydney, seemed to be unflappable. It made him want to rile her, but in his current weakened state it would definitely do him more harm than good to provoke her.

Sydney had left to the kitchen. Presumably, to talk to the other girl. Lucifer briefly wondered if she had tried to introduce herself. No, she had been too busy with the dogs, and it seemed that Sydney had deliberately kept her away from him. Lucifer didn't mind though; the silence gave him time to plan. He was healing far too slowly for a quick get-away, and he had no illusions about what the Winchesters or Crowley would do to him if they found him in this state. He had never been very good at making friends; enemies however...

Lucifer closed his eyes as he heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. Something cool and damp touched his forehead. Curious, he touched it with his hand. It was just a damp cloth, but it felt incredibly soothing on his aching head.

"Oh, you're awake," Sydney said as he opened his eyes.

Lucifer heard a soft clink and turned to see a glass of water on the coffee table.

"Sorry. We're out of ice."

"No problem at all," he said as he flashed her a charming smile. Sydney gave him a small smile in return and turned to leave when he asked, "So how far is this... ranger station?"

"About a couple of miles," she replied hesitantly, looking at the dark, stormy weather outside. "I'd like to get you there now, but this kind of weather is really dangerous to drive in. But if you want, I can try to take you there now."

"No! No, it's fine. The walk here really... took a lot of me." Really, Lucifer was grateful for the storm. It simultaneously hid his movements and gave him time to plan what to do next. Sydney seemed to believe his excuse. The walk had been extremely difficult; especially for her since she did most of the "heavy-lifting." By some miracle, they had made it here, where Lucifer had collapsed on the couch, and Sydney had started tending his wounds.

Sydney left the room while he was reminiscing their struggle, and Lucifer was almost sad to see her go. Her reactions to him were very entertaining, a strange mix between suspiciousness and strained politeness. Pretending to sleep had grown boring, and he was curious as to what she was doing now. Although given his current condition, sleep could only help him, but he wanted wait until they went to sleep. He'd have no one to observe then, so he might as well entertain himself now.

Sydney briskly walked back into the room carrying a pillow and a blanket; she paused and gave him an odd look.

Lucifer realized that he was still wearing the coat and blazer. Being an archangel, sleep wasn't really something he needed often, if at all, but he supposed sleeping voluntarily in a stiff suit was rather odd.

"Sorry. It's difficult to get off," he said with a sheepish smile. He could more than likely get undressed without her help, but she had refused to get closer to him than absolutely necessary since she bandaged his injuries. He was curious to see how far she would go.

Sydney hesitated, but with a small sigh she helped him out of the coat and blazer, placing the pillow behind him. She placed them on a coat rack, smoothing them down before walking to her room.

"Sweet dreams," Lucifer said sweetly.

"Goodnight, Nick," she replied as she shut the door behind her.

Lucifer heard the click of a lock and chuckled to himself. A lock wouldn't help them in the slightest after he regained his powers, but then again he felt inclined to spare them. Lucifer stretched out on the couch and settled in. After all, he quite liked being pampered.


	5. Chapter 4

Dean watched Sam as he talked to Missouri on the motel phone. Glancing at the laptop screen, he groaned as he saw that the wifi had gone out again; he closed the laptop screen with a sigh. Sam could figure it out when he got off the phone, and Dean really just didn't want to deal with it anymore. They had been researching some kind of urban legend called the "Goatman." Unfortunately, people seemed to be much more creative about the myth of the beastie than its name would lead one to believe. There was lore from three separate states, but none of it fit together. And not a single one said how to kill it.

"Thanks, Missouri. We haven't found her yet, but we'll keep you in the loop. Alright, bye," Sam sighed and placed the phone back on the hook.

"No other hints besides cabin in the woods. Great movie, but not a whole lot to go on," Dean muttered as he flipped through a book they had 'borrowed' from a library. It had a lot of pictures, which was nice, but not anything they needed.

"Well, she talked to the Marie's friends, a Wiccan. Her friend's coven did some sort of spell to try and get a read on where Marie might be." Sam started looking through camping brochures. "One of them got an image of a camping ground logo of sorts." He passed Dean a flyer for "Apple Mountain Camping Grounds."

"Oh boy. Do you realize how big this place is?"

"Yeah, but it's better than 'cabin in the woods'. Besides we'll just use our normal way of finding the monster."

"Follow the sound of screaming and metal crunching."

"Basically. There's a ranger station on the outer edge of the site. Maybe we should stop by there. See if any more sightings have been reported. Plus the rangers know the area. They might be able to give us more clues on where this thing could be hiding."

"Yeah. I see. 'Hey, Ranger Dan. Have you noticed a large goat-beastie lurking around? He'd be about yay high and smell of sulfur and death."

"Got any better ideas, Dean?" Sam snapped back.

Dean lifted himself out of the chair with a huff but started to walk to the door. As he opened the door, a loud crash of thunder greeted him. Dean turned to Sam, giving him a look that clearly said, "This is gonna suck."

Sam nodded and put on his coat as he followed Dean outside; the storm had clearly gotten more severe as they had researched the "Goatman." The brothers rushed from the room to the Impala, and they began their slow but steady drive to the ranger station. Dean drove more carefully than usual; his eyes scanned the darkness warily. No way was that monster going to total his baby, and the storm definitely wasn't helping the situation.

After about twenty minutes of terror, they reached the station. From the outside it just looked like another cabin, although a bigger cabin for sure. Dean parked the impala careful to avoid any spaces where the storm could cause any damage. Sam and Dean quickly decided that it would be best to go the FBI route. They could bring up Marie and ask the ranger if there were any empty cabins as it would tell them where the creature could be hiding and who could be in danger.

They put the badges in their pockets and quickly rushed to the door. After the third knock, they heard someone coming to the door. A teenager greeted them with a smile, but his eyes looked at them warily.

Dean showed him the badge and asked, "Is the ranger in? We have some questions about a missing woman."

"Liam! Let them in," a tall rugged man answered from the living room. The kid held the door open as Sam and Dean came inside but soon disappeared. The man gave Dean a firm handshake before introducing himself as Daniel Lottsford, and Dean had to fight back a small smirk.

"I heard about the woman who went missing around here. She was a hiker, right?" Daniel asked as he shut the door behind Sam.

"Yes," Sam replied. "We needed to ask you if there's anywhere she could have gone to take cover from the storm. Any empty sites?"

"Yes. Most of the sites were evacuated before the storm. Only the cabins on the outer edge have people still in them. They're built on higher ground, so flooding isn't an issue." Ranger 'Dan' searched in a drawer and pulled out a map of the sites. He passed it to Dean as he gave them a strange look. "It'd be best if you waited until after the storm to look for her though. No sense in you getting killed trying to find her."

"Well, we want to make sure she's not injured. If she is, being in this storm might be a serious risk," Sam replied as the ranger nodded. "We'd also like to ask you if anyone saw anything strange before they left."

Ranger Dan's demeanor changed. His posture became more rigid, and he openly eyed them carefully. "What do you mean by that?"

"I think you know just what we mean," Dean bluffed. He had no idea whether this guy knew anything, but it was better to get it out of him now than later.

Dan sighed and closed the door to the living room. He slumped into a chair as he put his head in his hands. "There was something, but it might sound... No, it IS crazy."

"Sir, we're pros at dealing with crazy."

Sam and Dean pulled up a chair as they got ready to listen to Ranger Dan's story.


	6. Chapter 5

Syd stared at her computer screen as she willed words to simply appear on the page. She already knew that she wasn't getting any sleep tonight. With a deadline looming in the distance and a stranger in the cabin, sleep wasn't really an option. The glow from the computer illuminated the room. To make herself more comfortable she shifted the laptop, catching a metal object as it fell. It was her old bat from her softball days.

A small sigh of relief fell from her lips as she looked at it fondly. She'd rather not have Nick know about her weapon of last resort. She had found a cast iron skillet for Charlie. Charlie hadn't wanted to take it, but Syd managed to convince her. Needless to say, Syd had little trust in their guest.

A knock echoed through the cabin. Syd looked at the door in shock. Who could it be at this time of night? In the middle of the woods? In the middle of a storm?! An uneasy feeling gripped Syd as she hesitantly grabbed the bat and left her room. The knocking grew more insistent.

Nick was sitting up, looking at the door when Syd entered the room. His eyes were wide open with surprise, and they got even wider as he saw Syd wielding a bat.

Syd pressed her finger to her lips as she sneaked toward the door. The knocks grew louder. The porch light was on, but she couldn't see the porch through the window without being obvious. Peering through the peephole, she didn't see anything. It was pitch black. Someone must be covering it she noted. As she had crept towards the door she had begun noticing a foul odor. It was even worse now. Like the stench of rotten eggs had been mixed with urine. It made her feel like vomiting. The knocks had now gone silent, and all Syd could hear was the corgis' frantic barking.

"Hello?!" shouted Syd as she winced. Was that really the best she could do? Even Nick gave her a sympathetic look.

"Come on, puppies," a cheery, high pitched voice said from behind the door.

The voice was familiar to Syd. Really familiar. It was the voice Charlie used to get the dogs to do something, like hurry or jump on a bed. Syd turned to see a shocked Charlie holding back two corgis.

Syd had never seen the corgis act so viciously before. Sure, they barked all the damn time but never like that. She felt her heart drop. This didn't bode well for them.

Syd finally plucked up the courage to yell, "I know you're not her, jackass! Quit screwing around, or we'll call the cops!"

The last part wasn't entirely true. Of course, she'd try to call the police. However, the mountains are not known for great cell reception. A hush fell over the cabin.

"LET ME IN!" shrieked a guttural voice.

Sydney had to grab a chair to keep on her feet. Her legs had almost turned to jelly at that sound. The dogs were now growling and snarling at the door. Syd and Charlie glanced at each other, seeing the same fear reflected in the other's eyes. Syd quickly motioned for Charlie to check the windows. They both took off, making sure every window was secure. Whatever that thing was, Syd wanted to make sure it didn't have easy access. She returned to the living room to see Nick checking the windows and looking appropriately terrified. Whatever shady business he was possibly doing, this obviously had nothing to do with it.

"LET! ME! IN!"

Syd checked the front windows again and saw a shadow move in the distance. The shadow came closer, and red eyes started into Syd's as she slowly took in more details of what was in front of her. Horns. Curled horns on his head. Red, glowing eyes. And she swore she heard cloven footsteps as it moved. She turned to see Nick and Charlie staring horror-stricken at the beast.

"Oh good. It's not just me."


	7. Chapter 6

Lucifer watched as Syd barricaded the last of the windows with an old bookshelf. She had quickly gotten to work after seeing their new "furry friend", while Lucifer had found a book on the coffee table. Some kind of romance novel called "The Italian Tycoon's Blackmail Bride." He chuckled to himself as he read it. Not exactly a work of art but it'd do for now.

Syd finished the windows and took a step as though admiring her work. Lucifer continued reading as Syd once again left the room. He admired her effort, but he doubted that if that thing really wanted in the cabin a bookshelf would stop it for long. A soft click of a door caught his attention. Syd had come out of the room carrying a laptop and a small blanket. Curious, Lucifer watched as she sat at the table a few feet away and settled in. She must have felt him staring because she quickly met his eyes.

"We're sleeping in shifts," Syd explained. "You should get some sleep too. Who knows when that thing might come back for round 2."

Lucifer quietly observed her as she focused on her screen. The screen was pointed away from him, but he could see she was reading some sort of web page by the light reflecting off of her glasses.

"Is it going to be too bright? I can turn down the brightness when you want to sleep. Or I'll just go to Charlie's room."

"It's no problem," he replied quickly. "I just thought you couldn't get an... Internet connection."

"You can't. At least not here. I have some sites that I saved before we left. And I just might know what our 'creature of the night' is."

Lucifer's eyes widened as he carefully moved off of the couch. He had healed some, but moving was still painful. Even so, he needed to see this. Slowly he made his way to the table as Syd concentrated on the screen. She only noticed him when he caught himself on a chair with an audible thud. Lucifer noticed a small look of disapproval before she helped him pull up a chair. The picture on the screen caught his attention; the creature looked exactly like what they'd seen. However, the creature in the picture carried a large ax.

"Not to sound ungrateful for all the help... But you just happen to have an... article on the very monster that's lurking outside."

"It's on lesser known urban legends. It doesn't have any really useful information like how to incapacitate it or flee from it."

"So what does our fine fellow do? Murder unwary campers? Harass young women?"

"Yes and yes. Apparently. But he seems to be unable to enter a locked place of residence. As long as we keep the doors and windows locked, he can't get inside."

"So we just wait here. Until he- what? Gets bored and decides his true life ambition is to become a lumberjack?"

"No. Just until morning. The encounters have always been at night. So, in theory, we should-"

The screech of metal caught their attention. Syd's look of deadpan annoyance was quickly replaced by one of dread. She sprang up to look out the window as barking and howling could be heard from the other room.

Lucifer felt newfound energy as he stumbled to the window. At first he could only see darkness, but then he noticed a shape rolling toward the cabin. A tire had been ripped right off of the car.

"What?" Syd said in a horrified whisper as the dogs charged out of the room.

Charlie also emerged from the room, peering from behind the door. Syd started to pace.

Lucifer pulled himself back into the chair. He held his head in his hands in frustration. Things just seemed to be spiraling downwards, and now Syd seemed to be losing her wits. Lucifer could hear her muttering under her breath as she moved around the room. He needed to find a way to get at least himself to safety.

Syd suddenly stopped pacing and stood in the center of the room. She then charged into her room.

"Syd?" Charlie asked hesitantly before exchanging looks with Lucifer.

Syd came running out of the room with a handheld device in her hands.

"I thought your phones don't get signal," Lucifer said, thinking that perhaps Syd was about to go off the deep end.

"They don't, which is why..." Syd trailed off as she fumbled with a cord before plugging it into a wall. "But this is a CB radio, which might."

Hope shone from Syd's eyes as worked on the device.


	8. Chapter 7

"It all began with a hiker. She was up on the outer ridge about a couple months ago, right after they had gotten the fire sorted out," the ranger paused as he pushed his bangs up with a sigh. "We found her the next day. She had locked herself up in one of the bathrooms, pretty shaken up. She said that there had been a man following her, wearing some sort of costume with horns. The only thing we found were a set of hoof prints."

Sam gave Dean a look as the ranger paused to find the words. It looked like their antlered friend had been causing some trouble well before the car crash.

"Normally I'd think it was just one of the teenagers pulling a prank, but there were further incidents. Nothing that I could prove or even really report. Some people said that they saw a girl walking along the paths. Only she wasn't really walking."

"She wasn't walking? What was she doing? Gliding?" Dean asked, while Sam tossed him an annoyed glance.

"No. She looked like a marionette. Almost. Every motion was jerking. Like she didn't quite know how to use her own body. And God, did it stink!"

"Thank you for sharing your information with us, but… it sounds more like you were actually there," Sam said with a slight hesitation.

The ranger quickly looked at him, fully looked at him as if seeing him for the first time. He chuckled a little before putting his hands up. "You caught me. I saw her. She looked just like the hiker we found in the bathroom. I called her family and told them it was just a follow-up. It couldn't have been her. She'd been home all night. I couldn't report it because what was there to report really. No one had been harmed."

There was a buzzing noise from the back room that caught Sam's attention. He turned to look as the kid from before entered the room with lemonade. Sam accepted the glass with a thank you before quickly turning back to the ranger.

"What is that sound?"

"Oh it's just an old trucker's radio that I fixed up. I got permission to send the people in tents home, but there are still truckers that may need help around here."

Sam also sighed with relief. At least there wouldn't be any campers getting hurt. "So there aren't any people up here excluding us?"

"… This… cabin 196… hear me? Over," a shaky voice called from the radio, startling Sam. "Cabin 196… Anyone there? Over."

The ranger jumped from his seat and grabbed the transmitter. "Hello? This is Ranger Lottsford."

Sam could hear a celebratory cheer before the girl on the line continued, "Emergency. Car destroyed… help. Cabin one… ty… six. Bring guns…"

The connection faded out. The ranger grabbed his keys and left the room. Sam and Dean also stood up and gave each other a look. They still had no idea how to kill this thing or even stun it. The ranger came back in holding a shotgun.

"Hey. I thought all the campers were gone," Sam said.

"All the people using tents. Cabins are exempt. If you want to come, be my guest, but I've seen that things prints. And you're gonna need some firepower." The ranger replied while putting on his coat.

Sam and Dean agreed to go and ran outside to get some back up weapons. Dean took the shotgun with rock salt and a silver knife, while Sam took the flashlight and a revolver. The ranger gave them an odd look, but Sam figured that he already knew that they weren't really FBI. Talking about goat men damages a lot of credibility.

They traveled up the road in the Jeep. Sam used the flashlight to keep an eye on the forest around them. The rain made it harder to see through the foliage. Suddenly the entire forest went silent, and a strange smell filled the air. The creature jumped out at the Jeep from the darkness, and a loud bang echoed through the trees as it collided with the car nearly sending them tumbling off the road. The ranger pulled the steering wheel and righted the vehicle as the creature once again plowed into them. This time the impact sent them into a tree, but Dean was able to fire a shot at the behemoth. It ran into the darkness with a screech. Luckily salt seemed to have some effect.

The ranger got out of the car quickly and shouted at them, "The cabin is just over that ridge. Run and I'll give you cover."

Before Sam or Dean could argue, he ran for cover in between some tightly grouped together trees. It would be hard for the thing to reach him, so Sam and Dean ran for it. They could hear footsteps and the loud crack of the shotgun, but they kept running. As they neared the cabin, they could no longer hear the gun. Sam suddenly heard a crash to his right and saw Dean on the ground. The smell was incredibly strong now that he was near the creature. Its red, glowing eyes focused on him. Sam fired the revolver, and the thing went down. He ran to Dean to pull him up and could see the creature slowly standing up. They were so close to the cabin. Sam wondered if they could make it if they ran.

Suddenly a loud bang rang out, and the creature once again dropped to the ground. A woman stood behind it shakily holding a bat.

"Well, hurry up. Let's go!" She shouted, and they ran into the cabin with the girl shutting the door firmly behind them.


	9. Chapter 8

Syd leaned against the wall for support. Athlete she was not, and even she was impressed by her own bravery. The two men, who had come to save them, were also winded. Two tall, handsome guys had come to their rescue. Syd couldn't help thinking that maybe this all was a long, strange dream.

Knocking interrupted Syd's thoughts, and she let out a groan. Not this again, please, Syd thought as she prepped herself for the yelling that would surely follow. However, what followed was a wordless roar that nearly took Syd to her knees.

"Not a happy camper," the shorter one remarked, and the taller one threw him a look.

Syd couldn't restrain a small laugh, but she wasn't sure whether it was genuine amusement or nervous laughter. She calmed herself down with a few deep breaths then asked, "Either of you know what that thing is?"

"Not really," the tall one replied. "Thanks for your help out there. I'm Sam, and this is my brother Dean."

"Oh, I'm Sydney. That's Charlie," Syd said as she gestured toward Charlie, who gave a small wave. "And that's Nick." As Syd introduced him, she noticed that Nick was acting strange. He also gave a small wave but overall looked uncomfortable at being introduced. Sam and Dean didn't seem to notice any awkwardness and were checking the barracades that Syd made.

"Has it tried to get in before?" Sam asked.

"Not really. Other than it screaming and banging at the door."

Dean was still looking around and almost stepped on a book. He bent down and picked it up.

"'Spells and Enchantments'," Dean said with a raised eyebrow, and he noticed another book on the table. "And… 'Sociopaths of the USA.' Quite the collection, don'tcha think?"

"She's a writer," Charlie spoke up. "That's why she has all of these… strange books."

"Says the one who reads romance novels," Syd quipped.

Dean and Sam shared a look before Charlie snapped back, "It's still better than psychopaths. I'll admit that it's still a sick fascination, but it's still better."

"I quite like this one," Nick interjected, holding up a copy of 'The Italian Tycoon's Blackmail Bride' as Syd put her hand in front of her face to hide her smirk.

"Well, thanks to one of my 'sick fascinations' I may have found out who our mystery man is."

"What?" Dean stopped snooping as he turned to Syd.

Syd walked over to the table and opened her laptop. Sam followed and watched as she brought up her saved webpage.

"At least that's what I think he is. There's an old urban legend in a town in Maryland. There was a doctor named Stephen Fletcher, whose wife was sick… and dying. So he started experiments to try to find a way to save her, and one of the things he brought to life was called 'The Goatman'.

Or at least that's how the story goes."

"Is there any way to stop it?" Sam asked, surprised at the information she found.

"Not really, but he's supposed to be carrying an axe. So we should definitely keep an eye out for that. Also it can mimic a person's voice, but I think it has to hear them say a phrase. It can even copy the tone, but when it tries to speak on its own… you'll know. It almost sounds like when people teach their dogs to speak words. It just doesn't sound right."

"But there's no info on how to keep it from busting in here like the kool-aid man," Dean commented snarkily from across the room.

"Oh yeah. Sorry. Couldn't help myself," replied Syd, looking over at Sam's pained expression and Dean's look of delight. "According to this, it can only get in if a door or window is unlocked."

"So as long as we stay here, it can't get us?" Charlie asked as Ollie the corgi jumped on the couch next to her looking for reassurance.

"In theory. And if he could, he most likely would have by now."

"Is there anything else?" Sam asked as though desperately trying to find a way out of this mess.

"I'm no Goatman expert, but it seems to be the most dangerous at night," Syd responded hesitantly. "We heard a crash. Was that you?"

"Yeah. Not our car. It was Ranger Daniel's. It's pretty much totaled."

"It got our car too. Tore one of the wheels right off. What happened to the ranger?"

Sam and Dean exchanged sad looks, and Syd's face fell as well. It would appear that he didn't make it.

"Well, we can decide what to do while we wait for the storm to settle down." Syd gestured to the only window not blockaded as thunder roared outside.


	10. Chapter 9

Lucifer just sat on the couch, slowly taking in the extent of the situation. The Winchesters were here because, of course, it can always get worse. He watched as Sam, Dean, and Syd argued over what to do next. Dean wanted to be the one to run back into the station, while Sam would help protect their cabin. Sam pointed out that going out there alone was suicidal. They'd have a much better chance with the two of them. Syd disagreed with both plans.

"It's reckless! And what happens if it gets you both before you even get to the radio? Did you even see what it did to my car?" Syd asked angrily with her arms crossed in front of her.

"What do you think we should do then?" Dean snapped back.

"I'll go too. At least to distract it while you get closer to the ranger's cabin. I won't go too far, and I can run back to the cabin if need be."

"What are you going to do when it attacks you? Hit it with the bat? We have a regular Ted Williams over here."

Syd glared at him as she tried to calmly respond, "Yes. I'll hit it repeatedly if need be."

Dean rolled his eyes and looked to his brother for help.

"Syd, this sounds weird. But this is what we do. We do have experience with this. You need to trust us," Sam said gently, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Three is better than two no matter how you look at it. That way it has to get two of us first. It's not much better but still better. It buys us a little more time. Plus Nick's hurt. If you two get attacked, then it'll just be us again, and the ranger lost his life for nothing."

Lucifer silently cursed Syd as the Winchesters' attention landed on him.

"So what happened to you?" Dean asked him, while Syd looked over quizzically.

"I haven't been entirely forthright with you. My name's Alastair Davenport. Alastair Nicholas Davenport," Lucifer amended when Syd started to glare at him. Her body language relaxed somewhat, but she was still tense. "I was attending a colleague's wedding in Shenandoah. As I was walking back to my hotel, I was attacked and thrown into a van."

Lucifer paused to place his face in his hands then continued, "Apparently they knew enough about me to know my father is a very wealthy man but not enough to know that we were not on the best of terms." Lucifer let a little of his own disdain for his father creep into his voice. He knew the pain of feeling abandoned and in fact sympathized with his vessel. Perhaps that was the reason he had been able to stay in this vessel so easily.

"At that point they decided that I was no longer worth the trouble. They beat me and left me for dead. They probably assumed that the storm would finish me off. Thank you, Sydney. You probably saved my life." Lucifer lifted his head up to look Syd in the eyes and snuck a peek at Dean and Sam, but he couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. He had said thank you to pacify Syd but found that he actually meant it.

Syd went a little red and mumbled something about how she didn't do that much, and luckily Sam and Dean had lost interest in him. They were looking at a map of the campsite and planning their escape.

"Um, excuse me, but how do we know that he can't get in here," Charlie spoke up, startling Lucifer. She had everyone's attention and continued, "Your plan only works if someone gets to the radio safe in addition to the 'Goatman' not being able to get in here. But what if it's only waiting for us to split up?"

The room went quiet as everyone realized that could definitely be true. That creature could then lure them using the screams of the others, and they wouldn't be able to tell if it was real or a trap.

"Well then, what now?" Dean asked as looked to Sam for a new plan. "We can't just stay here either if that's the case."

"We split up," Syd said calmly causing everyone to give her a look of disbelief. She took the map and showed them as she explained, "There are two opposing paths we can use to get to the ranger's station. One has a steeper incline, but it's shorter with minimal places to hide. The other is longer, but there's a public shower building that you can hide inside." As she spoke, she traced the paths with her finger to illustrate.

"Okay, so that is a plan. Anyone else got anything?" Dean scanned the room. No one had any other ideas. "Okay. So who goes with who?"

"Whoever takes Nick should be strong enough to support him. If fact two people should go with Nick. Just in case," Syd said, giving Lucifer a sympathetic smile.

"Sydney and Dean can go with Nick. I'll go with Charlie and the dogs." Sam gave Syd a reassuring smile, and Lucifer fought the urge to roll his eyes.

Syd nodded, and they slowly got to work preparing their escape. They'd wait until morning and hope that they were right.


	11. Chapter 10

The storm had calmed down, but it was still cloudy and wet. No doubt the sky would grow dark soon though. Joy, Dean thought as he looked into the forest. They hadn't seen their goat friend in a while. Sam and Charlie had already left, hoping to either lure the Goatman away or gain some distance. They had a longer distance to travel, so it made more sense for them to go first.

"Ready?" Syd asked him as she put her hand on the door knob.

Dean nodded as he helped steady Nick. Dean and Nick walked out the front door; Syd closed the door quietly behind her as they left. As they traversed the forest, Syd used her phone's flashlight to check the forest as they went. She carried the bat in her right hand.

They carefully walked a ways from the path. While this made them less of an easily seen target, it did lead to some problems. The ground was slick and muddy from the rain. Even Dean was having trouble with his footing, but he was also supporting another full grown man. Syd appeared to notice Dean having trouble because she started to help steady Nick from the left, switching her phone and bat.

They walked in silence careful not to make unnecessary sounds. Dean had the shotgun in his right hand. If the Goatman attacked, he would have to hope that Nick had enough strength to let Syd support him. There was a clearing up ahead where Dean and Nick could get a few moments of rest, while Syd kept watch. Dean and Nick leaned on a tree to catch their breath, while Syd scanned the area with her phone. She looked even more tense that before.

"Do you see anything?"

"No. I don't hear anything either, and that's kind of a problem," Syd answered while looking into the dark woods all around them.

"And that's not a good thing?"

"There's nothing. No rustling. No chirping. Just dead quiet. The storm has cleared up a bit. There's even light poking through the clouds. But listen."

The forest was unnaturally silent. Dean pulled himself off of the tree, and Syd helped Nick. Scanning the area, Dean couldn't see anything, but that didn't mean that it couldn't be watching them. Suddenly, a twig snapped as a smell of rotting flesh hit them. Dean held up the shotgun as a shadow moved from the tree line. He didn't have a whole lot of ammo on hand, so he'd have to be careful.

The creature lurked in the darkness and watched them. Light had broken through the clouds around them, encasing them in a chain of light. While this apparently was enough to give Phil second thoughts, it also meant that the contrast made it harder to see through the darkness. A light shone briefly in Dean's eyes, and he glanced at Syd to see her messing with her phone.

"Um, Sydney, what—?" Nick was interrupted by a scream from the Goatman.

The light had hit its eyes, and the beast lurched forward to attack Syd. Dean caught it directly in the face with a rock salt shot, which was shortly followed by a bat. The Goatman let out an ominous roar but took off straight into the bushes. Dean sighed in relief, but then he realized what direction it had fled. Exchanging a worried look with Syd, Dean reloaded the gun, and they started towards the ranger's cabin.

Nick seemed to have renewed vigor; adrenaline is a hell of a drug. They were traveling much faster now. Lights in the distance revealed the outline of the ranger's cabin. Dean jogged ahead to the cabin with Syd and Nick following closely behind him. However, it quickly became clear that something was very wrong. The front door was ajar, and while nothing looked much different from when Dean was last there, he could almost sense something was off as he entered the cabin. He quickly looked around before running into the room where the radio was last. As he entered the room, he noticed that nothing was disturbed except the radio. There was a screwdriver sticking out of it. As he got closer, he saw there was additional damage to the radio. He attempted to take the screwdriver out, but sparks flew. He backed away slowly. It was dead, and the boy that was here was also likely dead. He waited in silence as he heard Syd and Nick come inside. A soft click followed, and he could hear footsteps as Syd walked into the room.

"They should be close to here by now. Maybe they took cover in the public bathrooms," she said hopefully.

"I'm going to make sure," Dean said as he started to walk back towards the door.

"Hey, wait. We just got here. We should at least wait a few minutes for them to get here," Syd stopped talking as she saw the sabotaged radio.

"Then I'll meet them on the way over there. You saw where that thing ran. If they aren't on the way over, then they'll definitely need my help. It's quicker if I just go. Plus someone should be here. There was a kid here as well. He might just be hiding somewhere."

Syd looked like she wanted to argue, but she gave in with a small shrug.

"Fine. But take this," Syd said as she handed him a flashlight. "I found it on the desk. Just in case."

The sky had darkened once again. The wind was howling as Dean examined the flashlight. He turned it on and off to make sure it worked before he charged back out into the darkness.


	12. Chapter 11

Sam and Charlie sat with the dogs between them as they quietly listened to the outside. They had heard a shriek of pain and quickly doubled back to the bathrooms to hide as the sounds of the Goatman tumbled closer. Sam turned to Charlie. She was clearly terrified but holding it together for the pups.

"Sydney will be okay. Dean's with her; plus she's clearly a fighter," Sam reassured Charlie with a smile.

"I'm more worried about the two of them fighting each other," Charlie replied, returning his smile.

"Yeah. They both are pretty headstrong."

"And thoroughly invested in pop culture."

"Poor Nick."

Sam and Charlie laughed quietly, and Sam felt much more relieved or at the very least hopeful. It had been a while since he had hung out with someone other than his family. It was nice. Granted, there was an evil entity after them, but still… He hadn't heard from any of his old friends for quite some time. And at least some of them thought that he was a serial killer thanks to a couple of trigger-happy leviathans.

"I guess we're going to be here for a while," Charlie said, looking hesitantly toward the door.

"The good news is that the Goatman hasn't been able to get into the bathrooms. At least two people survived by hiding in a public restroom, so we should be fine," he said gently as he took a look around the room.

It had a shower, a toilet, and a sink. He noticed a weird grate in the wall by the shower. As he got closer, he realized that he could definitely see out of it. After examining it, he figured that the people showering could look out, but no one could look inside. He looked outside to see if the creature had found them but couldn't see anything in the forest. A small pressure on his leg caused him to look down. One of the dogs had its paw resting on his leg and was staring at him intently.

"What's this one's name?" Sam asked Charlie as he pet its head softly.

"Oh that's Annie. She's a bit of an attention hog. Do you have any pets?" Charlie asked with another smile.

"I had a dog once, but it's not really something that you can keep when you're… in this business."

"You mean, monster hunting."

"Yeah," Sam said with a small laugh. There really wasn't much use in denying it anyway.

"So you guys go around fighting monsters? Saving people?"

"Sort of. We do what we can."

"Hmm. Sounds like a dream job for Syd. A nightmare for me."

Sam looked at Charlie with disbelief and asked, "A dream job?"

Charlie shrugged and explained, "She loves paranormal things. Her and our friend Ren. Ghosts, fairies, you name it. Ah, but the fairies she reads about aren't the ones in the children's stories. They're much darker; she likes to read about that sort of thing even when she's not working on a book. So if I were you, I'd keep her in mind should we escape. She'd be perfectly happy to help you guys research these spooky things."

Annie snuggled on Sam's lap as Sam thought about his conflicting feelings. It would be incredibly useful to have someone on the team to do research, while Sam and Dean were on a hunt. However, the people who involved themselves with the Winchesters usually ended up dead. But if Syd really was interested in this kind of thing, then wouldn't she just investigate without them? That could be even more dangerous.

As he was weighing the pros and cons, Annie started growling at the door. A loud knock pierced the air around them.

"Hello?" said Ranger Daniel in a low voice. "Anyone in there?"

Sam and Charlie exchanged worried looks.

"Yes. But could you walk over to the bathroom to the left of us and walk back before we let you in?"

"Okay?" he said after a few seconds, sounding confused.

Sam pointed to the grate and whispered to Charlie, "The Goatman has a strange walk when he impersonates someone."

Charlie nodded, and Sam watched the grate as the ranger walked to the other bathroom. He was walking slowly but normally, and he was probably just trying not to make any noise.

"Okay," Sam said as he walked to the door. The revolver was in his hand, but he relaxed his grip. He would use it if he had to protect himself and Charlie, but only if there was no other option. As he opened the door, he barely even had time to register that Ranger Daniel was holding a Taser. Jolts ran up his body, and his vision faded to black.


	13. Chapter 12

The desk was filled with clutter, and Lucifer briefly wondered how the ranger even got work done. Loud knocks echoed from outside the room. Syd had started off checking to see if anyone else in the cabin, then she had moved on to something a little more annoying.

Lucifer turned in the chair to face the doorway as Syd walked inside and asked snarkily, "Are you trying to see if anyone's stuck in the walls? Maybe try Morse code."

Syd rolled her eyes at him but replied in an even tone, "There's a side room here. I just don't know how to get into it."

"Why does that matter?"

"It might, might not. I don't know, but it's better than just sitting here, twiddling my thumbs, and hoping that idiot gets back here with Charlie," Syd said furiously.

She was clearly distressed, even more so than when that creature ripped apart her car. Lucifer also was having a hard time seeing them get out of this. If he was at full strength, or even just half of that, destroying the 'big, bad Goatman' would be easy. He watched Syd carefully as she went back to searching for a way into the elusive room.

Would she believe him if he told her the truth? Obviously not the entire truth. 'Hey, I'm Lucifer. May I touch your soul?' would likely not work out well for him. He supposed he could do a tiny bit of magic to convince her that he's an angel, though it would have to be something small. Although even if she did believe him, would she tell the Winchesters? In his weakened state, it would be easy for them to finish him off. But really what other options did he have at this point?

"If you'd really like to see what's in there, I may be able to help you out."

Syd turned back to him and gave him a look of disbelief. "Really?"

"Yes, I'll need you to listen to me, and in exchange you'll keep what we discuss just between us. Deal?"

Syd stared at him with a measuring gaze but replied, "Okay. If you can find a way inside, I'll keep your secret. Let's shake on it." She held out her hand to Lucifer.

"Well, usually deals are sealed with a kiss," Lucifer said and flashed her a dashing smile.

Syd didn't budge with her hand, so Lucifer begrudgingly shook it. There was a pop, and the bookcase popped open to reveal the entrance. Lucifer quickly got up and blocked her from entering. Syd's eyes were wide with shock, but then she eyed him with suspicion.

"How'd you do that?"

"I'm an angel," Lucifer explained as Syd gave him a look of disbelief. "I'm serious. Alastair is just a vessel; most of my powers are gone. But there is a way that I can get enough power to save us."

Syd said nothing, but she was staring at Lucifer intently. Clearly, she was thinking back to the wounds that seemingly healed on their own.

"I need to touch your soul. I can siphon off enough power to kill the creature and get you to safety."

Syd was deep in thought, and when she answered, she surprised Lucifer. "So why was it so important that I keep that a secret? Wouldn't it be useful if Sam and Dean knew what you are?"

"Sam and Dean are hunters. They hunt monsters mostly, but they have killed angels. Granted, some of them deserved it, but they were my family."

Syd shifted away from him a little bit but replied, "So what could go wrong if, and only IF, I let you touch my soul? Could it break? Could I die?"

Lucifer winced a little. For a human, she was remarkably perceptive. He decided that the truth, while not incredibly persuasive, would be the best way to go. "Perhaps to dying. It is incredibly dangerous and painful, but a lot of the time it depends on the will of the person involved. There is risk, but I promise you that I will make sure that your friend is safe should anything happen."

"What about Dean and Sam?"

"Fine. Them too. Why not?" Lucifer smiled as he waited for her answer.

"Our deal was for me to hear you out and for my silence. You have both. Now I need to see what's in there, and I'll tell you what. If there are no other options available, I may let you do so. But for now it's plan Z. As in we try every other letter first."

"But we may not have time later," Lucifer argued and got closer to Syd.

"I trusted you, 'Nick.' Now all I am asking is that you return the favor."

Lucifer slowly backed away from the door, and Syd quickly pulled open the bookcase and ran inside.

"Oh no."

Lucifer looked in the doorway to see altar, a witch's altar by the looks of it. Books were stacked to the left of the altar with a single page placed on top. On the right was a shrine of some sort. A picture of a man and woman placed on top of it.

"So… not to be pushy, but how are you feeling about plan Z?" Lucifer asked with a smile as she glared back at him.


	14. Chapter 13

As Dean neared the public bathrooms, he heard a scream. He started sprinting towards the bathrooms. After a few seconds, he could see the building in the distance. He shone the flashlight on the building as he made his way around it. Only one door was closed, and he could hear the dogs barking from inside. The door was locked from the inside.

"Sam?" Dean whispered, but there was no answer other than the dogs. He knocked, still nothing. Cursing under his breath, he looked into the trees all around him trying to find a clue to where they could be. There were drag marks on the ground leading away from the bathroom. Dean got close to the ground and followed the tracks. Only using the flashlight to keep the tracks in his sight, he slowly made his way alongside the track marks. A snap of a twig behind him made him quickly scurry to the undergrowth and look around the forest. He waited until he heard the footsteps to go in a different direction before he continued creeping silently through the darkness.

He could see another cabin in the distance. It was obviously abandoned due to the undergrowth growing on the sides and the overall shabby exterior of the cabin. As he approached, he heard a rustle from behind him. He spun around and pointed his gun at the source of the noise.

"Don't shoot! Please!" the teenager from earlier whispered desperately as walked out of the grass.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!" Dean hissed as he pulled the teenager out of sight of the cabin.

"My brother never came back. A weirdo in a costume came in through one of the windows, and I had to run outside and hide. You were with him."

"No idea. The car crashed, and he disappeared. We've got the house secured for now. Go home. It's a lot safer than being here."

"But you don't understand," the boy, Liam, whispered. "Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, which is why you need to go to the house. You'll only be in the way."

"It has my brother under some kind of spell. I saw him drag that girl here."

"What?"

"I locked the dogs in the showers, so they wouldn't run off. That thing didn't seem to be interested in them anyway. I was afraid that they'd get hurt. Please we need more help."

"Yup. And you should run home now. We've got this, right, Dean?" Syd had crept up on them, nearly giving Dean a heart attack.

"How'd you get here?!" Syd showed Dean a piece of paper. It was a map of the camp with this area circled.

"I found this in the ranger's super-secret room. It's not far from the ranger's cabin, and I haven't seen you know who for a while."

"Super-secret room? Do you mean the side room next to his office? The one behind the bookshelf." Liam asked.

"How'd you know?"

"I found it a while ago. Usually Dan tries to keep me out of his office, but I don't really listen. It had a bunch a weird symbols and a picture of our mom and dad. Do you think that he caused this?" Liam looked terrified.

"Well. If that creature's controlling him, it's not safe for you to go in there. Don't worry we'll sort it out. Go home. Our friend Nick is there; tell him who you are and he'll let you inside. All the doors and windows are locked," Syd said to Liam as Dean looked on irritably.

Liam listened to Syd and headed towards his home. Dean and Syd then quietly argued over what to do next.

"You also need to go back to the ranger's cabin. I can do this on my own, but I can't have any distractions," Dean barked at her as quietly as he could.

"So you can 'Rambo' it? No. I'll be the distraction, while you break in and help the others."

"What'll you do if it catches you?"

Syd held up the bat with a smirk, "Hit it. Repeatedly."

Dean knew that it was a bad idea to go in alone. If the girl had been dragged in there, then there was a chance Sam was still alive. He still thought it was an incredibly bad idea to let Syd get chased around by the super powered satyr. That's if the Goatman was even in there. They should check the windows before deciding anything. Syd suddenly took off to the other side of the cabin and beamed a rock at the window.

"Hey, asshat! Remember me?! How about round 3?!" Syd shouted before sprinting into the trees.

Dean hid before the Goatman came roaring out of the house and ran into the woods. Dean cursed under his breath as he quickly ran into the cabin. He hoped that she'd be okay, but he needed to find Sam. He quickly looked around for the ranger. Ranger Dan must not be here, or he'd likely be out chasing Syd.

He walked into what must have been the living room at some point. Sigils were etched into the walls, and in the middle of the room was a pentagram. Not good.

"Dean!" Sam whispered from a room. He was handcuffed to an old radiator but otherwise looked fine. Charlie was also tied up.

"Was that Syd?" Charlie asked.

A third person appeared from behind Sam, the woman they had come here to find. Abbiejean looked disheveled but also unharmed.

"What's this all about?" Dean asked irritated. He was overjoyed that they were alive, but he couldn't figure out this creature's end game. Suddenly a familiar stench flooded into the cabin.

"It's the brother, Dean," Sam quickly said.

"The brother?" Dean asked as he tried to find a pick in his jacket.

"It's Liam. He's a witch, and he's the one who summoned the Goatman. He's trying to do some kind of ritual sacrifice."

Dean glanced back at Sam in terror. Syd was now out in the dark with a Goatman, a hypnotized ranger, and a murderous witch.

"Um, Dean?" Sam pointed to the window behind Dean where the Goatman's angry red eyes stared at him.

"Son of a bitch," Dean murmured as he steadied the gun.


	15. Chapter 14

Syd crawled through the underbrush. She thought that she might have lost the beast, which wasn't good and yet awesome. Although, it meant that Dean was probably in trouble. A rustle came from her right, and she cocked the bat. Taking slow, steady steps, she paused to check what it was. It was Liam.

"Liam!" Syd hissed and waved her arm towards him.

He ran to her and whispered, "I saw it go back to the cabin. Your friend's in danger."

"Crap!" Syd looked back toward where the cabin was. Should she go get 'Nick'? No, he would probably just try to instigate something again. She turned back to Liam and asked, "Why aren't you at the cabin?"

"I heard that thing coming and hid. And I saw my brother walking around, so I decided to stay hidden. We can go back. I'll help you. I can make some noise to distract it while you save your friends. Please." Liam looked so heartbroken that Syd begrudgingly agreed.

They swiftly walked back to the abandoned cabin. Syd checked the darkness behind them to make sure that they weren't being followed. A loud crash echoed from the cabin, like glass shattering. Syd ran towards the cabin and threw open the door to see Dean and the Goatman duking it out. Dean managed to hit it with the shotgun but then got thrown across the room.

"Enough!" Liam's voice rang out from behind her.

Syd turned to see a gun being pointed at her. "Please, everyone settle down. This will be over soon anyway. Please, drop the bat."

The Goatman appeared beside Syd as Liam took a pair of cuffs off of one of the tables and cuffed Dean. Dean gave him a death glare but didn't move.

Syd was shocked and heard the bat hit the ground. She remembered that 'Nick' was still at the cabin. Her hopes of any rescue were promptly dashed when 'Nick' appeared. The ranger was at his back holding a gun.

"Good. Everyone's here. So happy to meet all of you," Liam sneered with a catlike grin.

"What's your evil plan, brat? You want all the babes in the world? Freedom from high school? Maybe just nice cars?" Dean snapped angrily.

"Well, I do have a nice car. Now. What's yours is mine." Liam smirked as Dean's face grew redder. "But no, Dean. I want power, and my friend here had been nice enough to show me how. I'm actually really lucky that you and your brother showed up. Having you guys as my sacrifices will really make this spell work. And kudos for finding my map! It was originally for Daniel, but I'm so glad you guys found it." Liam had turned to Syd, flashing her another grin.

"What spell?" Sam asked from inside a room.

"Well, to summon Lucifer."

Dean's eyes went huge. "Why the hell would you want to do that?"

"Because my friend and I would like his power. This spell should at least theoretically cage him and drain him of his power, and what else besides God has as much power as an angel."

Syd peeked at 'Nick' to see his reaction. He was not taking it well; in fact, he looked like he might pass out.

"You see I needed six people to sacrifice but at least three 'special' people. That can mean psychics, witches, the living embodiment of Michael's sword, or a previous vessel of Lucifer himself. I mean, do I really need to explain that to you?"

"But why would you bewitch your own brother?" Sam retorted.

"Well, you can see that he wouldn't quite be accepting of my plan. Our parents were witches. After they were killed by hunters," Liam paused to glare at Sam and Dean before continuing, "Dan decided that we should go somewhere far away. He even left their books! I found this one in the hands of some idiot. Unfortunately, my friend killed them. I realized that I had to be more careful with my instructions."

The Goatman leered at Syd and Dean with cold fury.

Liam smiled in return. "My family helped create him. And when I get Lucifer's power, I'll free him. With restraints though, of course."

Syd was standing there trying to take everything in. Apparently, Dean and Sam were much more involved in angel stuff than she had been willing to believe. And maybe 'Nick' wasn't lying about being an angel. She wondered if there were any ways out of this, and if not, how could she even get to him? She could hear Charlie crying in the room. She really might die. Charlie might die. Syd could feel her eyes misting up.

"Liam," Sam said gently. "I'm sorry about what happened to your parents. I would know. All I have is my older brother too. Sometimes we mess up and do the wrong things, but you know that if you do this, there's no going back. What do you think your brother will feel like?"

"He'll get over it. I'll make him realize that I was right."

Dean started saying something but stopped as Syd met his eyes. Syd started crying. She buried her face in her hands and let out a small cry.

Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Liam and asked, "If you're going to kill us, please let me say goodbye to my friend."

"Okay then. But stop crying; it's annoying."

Syd wiped her tears away, and she ran straight to 'Nick' and embraced him.


	16. Chapter 15

Nick looked shocked, and Dean assumed that he did too. Syd had never treated Nick unkindly. However, she had never seemed incredibly fond of him either. Dean quickly realized that she must have some sort of plan to get them out of here. He tried to keep his face blank, so that Liam wouldn't notice. Nick seemed to realize the same thing as he quickly returned the hug and put his head close to hers.

"Okay, Dan. You can back off. Let the lovebirds have their moment," mocked Liam.

As Dan backed up and moved his gun away from Nick's back, Syd whispered something in Nick's ear. Suddenly, Nick's poker face turned into a smug smile. He slid his hand down her back and pulled her close as he shoved his other hand into her stomach. A bright light glowed from inside Syd as he touched her soul. Her head fell onto his chest.

Dean sat there staring in shock as 'Nick's' eyes glowed red. Had Syd known who he was? Did she make some sort of deal with him for their safety?

"What?! Dan, shoot him!" cried Liam, but it was too late.

Lucifer smirked as he bent Dan's gun and threw Dan into a wall. He paused to place Syd gently on the ground and said cheerfully, "You wanted me here? Well, here I am, wings and all." As he said this, wings appeared behind his back. They were different than when Dean had seen them before. They were a kaleidoscope of colors, and even his eyes glowed brighter.

"You wanted to take my power, but I feel like you really need to see it up close."

Liam fell to the ground, terrified. The Goatman stepped in front of him as a shield from Lucifer. He growled before Liam started pleading for his life.

"Please, don't hurt me! I'm just a kid. He's to blame! I never would have done it if it wasn't for him!" Liam pointed to the Goatman, who stared at the boy in shock.

"But you summoned him, boy. He works for you, not the other way around. What was all that about power?"

"I thought that was what I wanted, but I know I was wrong. Please, just let me live. You'll never hear from me again."

"What about your poor furry friend? Should I spare him too?" asked Lucifer. His tone was cheery, polite even, but rage burned in his eyes as he stared at Liam.

Dean had managed to use his pick to open the cuffs. He slowly took a small knife from his boot. Luckily Lucifer was too busy messing with Liam to notice Dean. Dean would have to use that to his advantage.

"I don't care. Please, just let me go. He's just a monster."

Enraged by the boy's betrayal, the Goatman picked him up and rammed his hand through the boy's torso; Liam's eyes were still open when he was dropped to the ground no longer breathing.

Dean heard a gasp and saw that Dan had pulled himself back up to see his brother die.

"Liam?" whispered Dan as his eyes filled with sorrow and rage. He charged at the Goatman, but Lucifer knocked him back down.

"This is my fight," Lucifer said unapologetically.

The Goatman roared at Lucifer before running into the woods.

"Damn. Thought you were more of a fighter than that," Lucifer said with a smile as he disappeared.

Dean unlocked the other cuff and ran to Dan. Surprisingly, he only had bruises. Dean then checked on Syd; she appeared to only be sleeping.

"Dean?" Sam called from the room.

Dean quickly ran into the room and gave the pick to Sam and used the knife to cut the rope on Charlie and Abbiejean's hands.

Charlie ran over to Syd and cradled her, and Dean got to work to banish Lucifer. He cut his arm and started to draw the banishing sigils on the wall in his blood. There was a loud scream of pain from the woods around them and then silence.

"Well, that problem has now been solved." Lucifer smiled as walked into the room. "See? Aren't things easier when we all work together? Hey, Dean—!" Lucifer yelled as Dean completed the sigil. With a flash of bright light Lucifer screamed with frustration as he was sent elsewhere, and Dean collapsed to the ground. Sunlight streamed in from the windows as they all sighed in relief.


	17. Chapter 16

Dean took Abbiejean and Charlie into town to find a phone. Castiel had appeared not long after Lucifer disappeared and was now looking after Syd. Sam walked back into the cabin to find Syd waking up. She looked up at Castiel and said quietly, "Hello, nurse."

"No, I am not a nurse. My name is Castiel. People usually just call me Cas."

Syd smiled and replied, "It was actually a reference, but okay. I'm Sydney." Syd slowly got up and looked around. "Where's Charlie?"

"She went into town with Dean to call her parents," Sam quickly reassured her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I was hit by a semi. Everything's sore."

"You're lucky. Things could have been much worse. Lucifer is not known for being gentle," Cas elaborated.

"Yeah. I kinda got that. Thanks," Syd looked around the cabin. "Where's the ranger?"

"He disappeared after Lucifer did. I doubt he'll cause any trouble though. But if he does, we'll catch him," Sam replied.

"And Charlie? And the puppies?"

"She went with Dean to call her family. The dogs are around here somewhere," Sam said as he heard barking. They must have heard her.

Syd smiled and thanked Sam as Ollie and Annie jumped on her, and she took the dogs outside and sat on the steps as she looked around. Sam watched her for a minute. He was still deciding on whether they should try to recruit her as a researcher. Perhaps he should get Castiel's input before he asked Dean.

"Hey, Sam. I would like to speak to you in private for a minute," Castiel said awkwardly gesturing to a part of the house away from Syd's hearing.

"Oh, okay."

They quietly walked over to another room.

"So what's up, Cas?"

"It's about Sydney. Her soul has taken on… a unique property. I've never seen something like it before."

"What do you mean?"

Castiel sighed as he further explained, "Lucifer must have been deeply injured. And you know how strong souls are."

"Yeah, but what's the problem?"

"Part of Lucifer's grace is still inside of her. It's very small but still there."

"Okay. Like when I had Gadreel's grace inside of me. Don't we just have to wait for it to go away on its own?"

"Perhaps, but what worries me is how she got it. Her soul pulled in his grace. Normally grace isn't left behind that way," Castiel said with a worried expression.

Sam realized that he already had the answer to his question. He asked Castiel, "Okay. Well, what if I give her my number and keep in touch with her? That way we can monitor her without it being noticed."

"That sound like it would work. Yes, we should."

Sam walked out onto the steps. Syd had her eyes closed and a serene expression on her face.

"The sounds are back," Syd said, startling Sam. He sat down and listened too. Chirping echoed from the trees, and the storm had retreated to reveal the sky. It really was relaxing up here without the threat of the Goatman.

"Um, Syd, I'd like for you to take my number."

Syd opened her eyes with curiosity and stared at Sam.

"Just in case you start to feel… unwell."

"I'll be fine, but thanks. I'll make sure to give you a call if I need to."

"And I'd like to ask… if you'd like to be our researcher. A lot of the time we go into something not knowing what we're fighting, so I'd be great if you could give us a hand."

Syd's eyes lit up, and she gave Sam a sweet smile. "Really?"

Sam and Syd exchanged numbers and waited on the steps until Dean and Charlie came back. Sam felt relieved to have another person on their side, while he could see the excitement radiating from Syd's smile as she watched the dogs. They listened to the sounds of the wind going through the trees, not saying a word, but each feeling a silent understanding.


End file.
